Whether or not you made it to last weekend’s numerous openings & events, there’s still plenty going on in the art world iN Nairobi. Scroll down to see what’s on in April…
EVENTS
Orbiting: Munyu Turns One | Munyu Space | Thursday 3 – Sunday 6 April
Munyu Space celebrates their 1-year anniversary with the following series of events:
Thurs 3 April 2025
4 – 6pm – Space-making workshop
6:30 – 7:30pm – Munyu launch and anniversary toast
8:00 pm – late – Munyu @ The Clearing in conversation @bizi_bingi
Fri 4 April 2025
11 am Now You See Me, Now You Don’t – Drawing and image transfer workshop w/ Tizzita Teffera
2 – 5pm: How To Make (a Life): a conversation space with valiant / waiyaki / wamuoyo
6.30pm – 8pm SACRED: a (ceremonial) Space with W.W.W (Waiyaki na Watu Wake)
Sat 5 April 2025
11am – 1pm Into the garden session @calotropis radio
2-4pm – Community Care at Munyu w/ Anto and V | Potluck and Clothes Swap
5-10pm: 3 film screenings
Sun 6 April 2025
11 am – 2 pm Live storytelling session performed by Ndiangui c Muya, stage managed by Dorothy Kanana and sound design by Emanuel Barasa.
2pm-4pm Play with clay and sculpt stories @faithnatocho
4pm Buna at Munyu – ongoing coffee ceremony @shybunasprice
5pm-6pm Misgana – ritual – (thanksgiving, intention setting) w/Tizzita Teffera
Exploring Expression: A drawing workshop | BrushTu Artist’s Collective | Friday 4 April 10am – 12pm
A drawing workshop led by founding member and prolific artist @maina_b1_studio. Basic drawing materials like cartridge paper and HB pencils will be provided. To apply, fill out the form linked in bio.
Textile Portraiture | Mory |*The Holmes à Court Gallery* , Afrika House | Saturday 5 April | 2 – 7pm
Mory is a self-taught photographer whose work is inspired by fabrics and intricate patterns, shaped by his family’s textile business. His striking visual narratives explore masculinity, familial history, and emotional depth.
Expect a chill Saturday afternoon launch with art, music, Sudanese bitings, and bubbles for the opening of this month-long exhibition. Address shared upon RSVP (required).
OPENING THIS WEEK
Shades of the Motherland: African Abstractions | Samir Shareef, Stephen Makana, Patrick Nganga | Opening 5 April, 3 – 6pm | Until 30 April
Celebrate the vibrant essence of Africa as this exhibition brings together tradition and modernity, with bold colors, dynamic forms, and powerful abstraction telling untold stories. Highlights: Geometric rhythms by Samir Shareef | Urban narratives by Stephen Makana | Natural energy reimagined by Patrick Nganga. Explore the infinite shades of African creativity and its boundless ability to inspire.
Self Embrace | Joy Maringa | Chez Mahmadi | Opening reception 5 April 4 -7pm | Open 1 – 23 April, Tuesdays – Sundays, 8am – 4pm
n the Finding Self series, Maringa explores the ongoing journey of self-discovery and acceptance as a continuous process of growth and transformation. She delves into the internal struggle between long- held beliefs and the shifting perspectives that emerge when we begin to question them. Maringa begins by bleaching paper, symbolizing the distortion of our true selves, a result of societal conditioning from birth. This bleached paper is then burned, representing the painful but necessary process of confronting and understanding our evolving perspectives. The remnants of the paper are adhered to colored paper, symbolizing the rebirth and renewal of self, as the act of choice introduces new ways of being and thinking.
ONGOING EXHIBITIONS
I Come From There (For Palestine): An Evening at the Gallery | Xavier Verhoest | Tribal Gallery | Until Sunday 13 April
A poignant exhibition by Xavier Verhoest, a visual artist based in Nairobi since 2001. Exhibited in Kenya. France and Belgium for over 20 years. Born in DR Congo. Xavier studied film editing in Belgium, before joining Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in 1992. working in conflict zones until 2003.
“I spent two years in Palestine. It has shaped me. I still hear the echoes -the people, the poetry, the music, the food the human connection. Beauty despite all the struggle. In East Jerusalem in 1999. I began to paint….My art resists violence, borders, and erasure. The openness f the horizon is my way to enlarge such a contrived world. In Gaza. saw the sea as both escape and prison. I paint open landscapes, between oblivion and remembrance.”
Shades of Hope | Solomon Muchemi | Nairobi National Museum | Creativity Gallery | Opening Tuesday 25 March | Until 30 April
Life between ebb & flow: Mangrove ecologies Presents Radio Mikoko+ المنغروف | Kamene Art Centre | Opening hours 10am – 6pm
Radio Mikoko+ brings together oral histories, material explorations, sound recordings, and visual ethnographies that convey the rhythms, dynamisms, and regenerative capacities of liminal seascapes, focusing their contemplations on the biological and cultural systems around mangroves in Lamu. Come experience a sensory encounter and tune into the manGrooves through the living ecosystem of Radio Mikoko+_
Olivia Pendergast | The Light That We Are | One Off Gallery | Until 20 April
After a considerable hiatus, Olivia Pendergast is showing her stunning new collection of oil paintings. The show comprises both landscapes and figurative works. Pendergast says of her work: ‘Our world has been sweetly misguided as we crave and seek objects, experiences and relationships to cure our hunger for happiness. It is a simple misunderstanding”. Pendergast’s work is intimately tied into her Non-Duality Meditation practice.
Read more about Pendergast and her work in our artist profile.
Silvester Mwangi | Pathless Paths | One Off Gallery | Until 20 April
The sculptures are a representation of yoga postures that are taught under classical Hatha yoga. Hatha yoga stems from a deep understanding of the mechanics of the body and uses yogic postures to enable the system to sustain higher dimensions of energy. By practicing this profound science, one can change and enhance the way they think, feel and experience life. Hatha yoga is about creating a body that is not a hurdle in life. The body becomes a stepping stone in the process towards blossoming into an ultimate possibility.
The works also depict various states of meditativeness, seeking to delve into deeper aspects of life and quench the thirst of longing to know. Inspiring people to take it up with the understanding that meditation is a quality that naturally manifests if we cultivate the right kind of inner situation.
Prints Prints | HoF Gallery | Until 13 April
The Kibera Arts District’s first collaborative exhibition with Wajukuu Arts Collective and Kairos Futura at the HOF Gallery Kibera. The exhibition of prints was organized around the announcement of a new printmaking studio and gallery in the Kibera Arts District, to be launched in the next several months. Prints Prints is also a commemoration of the spirit of “True Collaboration” wich KAD/HoF envisions for the printmaking studio/gallery and for the East African Arts Communtiy.
HoF Gallery, Olympic, Kibera | For more information call +254 741 443 678 |@hofgallerykibera
Installation view: Dicken Otieno, Shabu Mwangi, Austine Adika. Courtesy of Circle Art Gallery
A group show of new works by current artists | Circle Art Gallery | Through 17 April
Including works by Dickens Otieno, Sandra Wauye, Leo Mativo, James Kagima, Sammy Mutinda, Ethel Aanyu, Tiemar Tegene, Sanaad Shreef, Rasto Cyprian, Tabitha wa Thuku, Souad Abdelrassoul, Shabu Mwangi, Austine Adika.
“We don’t always have the opportunity to exhibit new works from the artists we regularly collaborate with, especially in between their solo exhibitions or curated shows. However, recently we have received some exceptional pieces that need to be seen on the walls of our beautiful gallery.”
BEASTS & PETALS | Mwass Githinji | Red Hill Art Gallery | Until Saturday 22 April
My art is rooted in a rich tapestry of African stories, world philosophies, and the influence of great artists from the past and present. It is a mirror to the complexities of the human spirit, unearthing the emotions we suppress and the untamed thoughts we dare not speak aloud. Vulnerability is at the heart of my work—exploring the fragility of our inner child and exposing the raw, unfiltered state of being. My canvases are fragments of us all, meant to be hung, observed, and discussed—whether in whispers or critical tones.
East Chrome | Banana Hill Art Gallery | Until 26 May
Banana Hill Art Gallery is delighted to present “East Chrome”, an evocative exhibition showcasing the works of four exceptional Ethiopian artists—Eyayu Genet, Yonas Degefa, Nega Yilma, and Kibeom Seyoum. This exhibition brings together a dynamic fusion of colour, identity, and cultural expression.
The title “East Chrome” reflects the vibrancy and depth of artistic vision emerging from Ethiopia. Chrome, signifying colour and brilliance, represents the bold, chromatic storytelling that these artists bring to the canvas. Through their unique styles and perspectives, they invite us to experience the rich artistic landscape of East Africa, where tradition and contemporary influences intertwine.
Sina Jina Collection | 2nd Edition | The African Arts Trust | Until 23 May
The exhibition’s focus this year is on the 2nd generation of Kenyan artists whose works are in the collection. The Sina Jina collection is a body of work collected by the founder of the African Arts Trust, Robert Devereux over the last 25 years.
Artwork: @aookello Anthony Okello,Herd Full of Dreams, 2020
Fragments of Home | Romeo Niyigena | SenaArt Gallery X Under the Swahili Tree
Niyigena is an emerging artist from Kigali, Rwanda. His works primarily encompass oils & acrylics on canvas through which he exploes the theme of diversity, a profound source of inspiration for him. His work is deeply influenced by cultures he has encoutered across Africa. Each of Niyigena’s creations is imbued with poetic expression, weaving a unique narrative or symbolism, inviting the viewer to dive deeper.
Martin Musyoka | Exhibition + Live Painting | Que Pasa Restaurant, Karen | Until 3 May
Experience the artistic journey of musyoka martin at Que Pasa! Join the artist in his quest for peace and thrill in nature—an ongoing exhibition and meet & greet. Enjoy live paintings every Thursday and be part of the conversation.
Group Exhibition | The Artists Palette, Karen Village | Ongoing | 9am – 5pm
Including artists: Meek Gichugu , Michael Musyoka , Musah Mwakelemu & Nedia Were
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
Posta (Pervasive whispers) | Anthony Muisyo | Munyu Space | 10 April – 9 May
This exhibition is a walk through the city that encourages us to train our eyes to see what’s often overlooked, yet right in front of us, and to attune our ears to the constant hum of voices that shape our urban landscape. The work invites us to focus on the people—the fundis, designers, waganga, and others—whose contributions are all around us but often fade into the background.
Alibhai Mullah Jevanjee – The Grand Old Man of Kenya | The Nairobi Gallery | Opening 13 April
Theresa Musoke – A Retrospective, 1963 – 2025 | Circle Art Gallery | 23 April – 5 June 2025
This in-depth exhibition celebrates over six decades of Musoke’s prolific art-making practice, primarily as a painter and printmaker. Born in 1944, Musoke’s devotion to her life’s work as an artist took root at the Margaret Trowell School of Fine Art, (now Makerere School of Fine Art) in Kampala, Uganda and she hasn’t stopped since. A foundational figure in the East African art scene, Musoke is not only known for her celebrated visual arts practice but also as a distinguished educator.
